Taking Care of an Orphan
by Yin of Yang
Summary: He supposed his teacher or that pineapple bastard was to blame for the predicament he was in. ...Yeah, the pineapple bastard was most definitely to blame. Either way, Gokudera was in charge of eight year old orphan, Sawada Tsunayoshi.


**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and I think I'm okay with that. I think.**

* * *

Of all the words of punishment that could have come out of his teacher's mouth, he had to admit, this certainly was a surprise. Detention was most expected, obviously, and maybe even a day with that insane Disciplinary Committee Leader doing his dog work would have been easier to expect. But…

"Community Service?"

…That was not expected. In the slightest.

A smug smirk surfaced on his teacher's lips and he cursed himself. With his teacher, it was a constant battle of emotions, words, and wits. His surprise must have slipped through his usual poker face and he was certain he wasn't going to get off the hook coming from the situation he was in.

A dainty hand flew up to her lips, obscuring his view of her still smug smile. "Oh~? Was that a surprise?"

See? No slack.

She dropped her hand to her hip and leaned over his desk with her other hand steadying her self, the smile only growing. "Were you expecting, perhaps, an hour of detention? Or maybe In-School-Suspension with the Disciplinary Committee doing their dog work?" Damn! This was why he needed a constant poker face with this woman!

A scoff sounded from his throat as he turned away from her all knowing blue eyes. "So what if I had been? That's what teachers usually give out. No big deal."

"And that's why I'm making you do Community Service."

He turned his eyes back to her just as she eased herself off his desk and fixed a stern gaze on him. "Gokudera Hayato, you are easily the smartest boy in your year, maybe in the school should you actually try to give a damn half of the time. Which is why detention would _not _suffice; what work would you do?"

Gokudera replied with a smirk, "Shit. I would pretty much be doing shit."

The teacher sighed, "Precisely. You would be doing shit." She backed up until she was resting on the teacher's desk. "And I fear if you and Hibari Kyoya were to even be in the same _room_, the school might spontaneously combust or something. You two don't get along.

"I mean, you can barely behave in a classroom! Really, Gokudera-kun, paper balls? Who gave you permission to throw paper balls across the room?"

Gokudera snorted, "The asshole was asking for it. All day I've been hearing shit from his mouth. He's the only one who gives a fuck about his girlfriend breaking up with him."

A weak smile flitted on her face. "I heard that it was because she fell in love with you."

"Again, not my problem. If he can't keep his woman from falling for somebody she's never met then it's his fault."

She shook her head with her weak smile on her face. "Nonetheless, Gokudera-kun, you're sixteen in high school. Throwing paper balls is a sign of serious immaturity. I'm hoping that by doing a day's worth of Community Service will teach you about responsibility and to help you grow up a bit."

It made sense. Because, yeah, it might have been a little stupid and not well thought through to throw paper balls at another student. With his display of rare immaturity (he was never that stupid), of course it might have worried his caring teacher, though it unsettled him knowing that she cared.

But that didn't mean that he would go through with it.

"You act as if I have nothing better to do in a day. I'm actually a very busy person." He smirked, "Not everyone has an old lady's day of knitting and reading like you do, _Old Lady _Aria."

He watched with satisfaction as her face twitched and a vein throbbed on her cheek, right under that weird little flower tattoo under her left eye. Her smile became obviously strained and forced out a chuckle. "I hardly find twenty-eight to be an old age, Gokudera-kun."

"Really? 'Cause I do. I'm pretty sure a lot of the students would too."

She bit down on her lip in determination. Determination of what, Gokudera couldn't quite decipher but if he had to guess, then it'd be because she was trying to keep a smile on her face or to _not_ knock the living daylights out of him.

Tch, like she could.

"Tell you what, Gokudera-kun," Aria looked at him with a very hard glare and Gokudera almost felt intimidated. Almost.

"If you don't do the twenty-four hours of community service, then I assure you that you will_ not _pass the rest of the school year."

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_. "WHAT!"

"Oh, I'm sure you heard me well, Gokudera-kun." Aria paused to reach behind her. She placed a sheet of paper on his desk and gave Gokudera time to look over it. Gokudera took the time and skimmed the paper. A deep scowl pulled his lips down.

"You can't be fucking serious! You have no fucking right!"

"My right is that I'm your teacher! My job is to give you the lessons to help you succeed in life and from your attitude, I can tell you're going to fail!" She jammed a finger onto his paper. "So you either choose a service from this paper, or you flunk and repeat the school year!"

"You…" Gokudera gave his hardest glare, green eyes glowing in anger. Aria returned it with her sternest, blue eyes narrowed. The silent stare down stretched for long minutes, neither willing to back down. It was broken by Gokudera; he stood abruptly, knocking his chair over in the process. He clicked his tongue angrily and snatched the paper off his desk and stuffed it in his pockets. Without another glance toward his teacher, Gokudera stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door and shaking the whole classroom.

Silence followed and Aria let out a sigh. She numbly picked up the knocked over chair before stalking just as numbly to her desk. Another sigh escaped her lips as she sat down and stared at a neatly stacked pile of ungraded papers. Steeling herself to stay longer after school, she picked up a nearby pen and started to grade. Not even five minutes into grading passed and her thoughts strayed back to her conversation with her silver haired student.

She really was watching out for him. His hotheaded temper would get him nowhere in this world, and if little peeks of immaturity peeked out like that, his future looked bleak. He needed to calm down.

Aria raked a hand through her hair before fisting it, her eyes focusing on the paper in front of her. 'Well, this is a coincidence,' Aria blinked as she read Gokudera's name scribbled rather legibly on the top. A smile brightened her features before writing a big '100' under his name. The boy had smarts. He has yet to make anything under a hundred and with a brain like that, he could go far.

She was looking out for him. As his teacher, she needed to bring out his potential and have him use it productively in society. And that was that.

'But he's going to hate me for making him do this,' she smiled wryly at the thought.

* * *

Gokudera hated his teacher for making him do this. Hated her with a burning passion.

It wasn't fucking fair! Okay, so even if he did have all the faults that would make him supposedly fail in life, who was she to decide that he would? She was a teacher! She didn't know anything about him!

"She can go to hell," he grumbled as he brushed a few strands of hair from his face.

Now he had to go through this. Though school wasn't in his best interests, as of right now, he needed to be in school. Though he had perfect grades on everything, he needed at least one year of high school in his experience.

The reason why was right in his face.

Gokudera's eyes ran along the metal outline of a black gate before looking up at the structure the gate was built to protect. He sighed at the familiarity of the large, white, multistoried house.

His home.

His home that he absolutely _loathed_.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and fished around in his pockets for the gate key. He let the gate creak open a crack and slipped through the crack. After closing the gate with a kick, he trudged across the cement pavement, a tense frown adorned on his features from apprehension. The frown only deepened when he climbed up the three steps leading up to two large, furbished wood doors. He slowly stuck in the same key and, with even less speed, turned it. He opened the door and tried to make as little noise as possible when closing the door.

"Hello, Hayato." Well, so much for trying when there wasn't a reason to.

He shoved the door to a close and proceeded to take off his shoes. He then stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked past the person who greeted him without a glance.

She was one of the reasons why. Bianchi, his older sister.

But hell, if you're going to mention his sister, you might as well say just the whole damn family.

His family was the reason why he needed that one year of high school.

He needed that one year of high school to get the hell out of this family and this house.

Gokudera opened the door to his room and closing it with another kick. He took in the familiar terrain with a single sweep of his eyes before steadying them on his desk. A small smile tugged and he walked over to it. He picked up a jar resting on his desk, the contents lightly clinking against the jar. His eyes traveled onto the jar's label and ran his thumb over the tape keep it on the jar. To any onlooker, the label looked like a thin piece of paper with little doodles sketched on it.

Only Gokudera knew that the doodles were his own written language, the G-Script, constructed in his first year of junior high.

The label read, 'Savings for a new home,'

All his earnings from years of hard work, from trials and tribulations that he pushed through with blood and sweat (Alright. So he over-exaggerated a little. Shoot him for feeling so strongly about his hard work.), were stored on this very jar.

Gokudera planned to use all of the money he earned to get him a one room apartment. He already had it all planned out; in a nearby apartment complex was a whole floor of apartments that he could afford to rent. He already had three months worth and by the end of the year he should have his fourth month. After having his fourth month's worth, he'd be ready to get the hell out of here. With the jobs he had currently, he'd start saving up gradually for the next months of rent. When all four months were paid off, his high school life would be over and he could apply for a job that paid more money than all his jobs that he had combined.

Gokudera grinned at the thought and set his jar down on his desk before changing out of his school uniform and into his evening job's uniform.

After that, it was smooth sailing. He had it all planned out.

Knowing he was this close made him feel uncharacteristically giddy and a chuckle erupted from his mouth as he fixed his golden tie in a his full view mirror attached to his closet door. He smoothed out any wrinkles on his rusty red vest and after buttoning up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, he grinned at his reflection with vigor, ready to work for his goal.

He pivoted on his heel and took out step toward his door-

_Crunch_.

Gokudera frowned and looked down at his feet. His frown deepened as he recognized the crumpled piece of paper. With a click of his tongue, he picked up the sheet of paper and straightened it out, green eyes skimming the paper again.

Different possibilities of service were listed on the paper, and it made Gokudera's blood boil just by looking at it.

_1) Collecting items for charity such as clothes, food, or furniture._

Oh, _please. _As if he would be willing to go around town knocking on peoples' doors, trying to get something like _clothes_. If he didn't have any extra clothes, then he was certain that others wouldn't either. His family was quite wealthy.

_2) Helping out at a local library_.

Hm. As normal as that sounded, he didn't have the time to volunteer for a total of twenty-four hours at a library. Thinking about though, he didn't have time for any of the shit listed on the sheet anyway!

_3) Helping the elderly in nursing homes_.

And he'd do that, why? He got enough of his old man and Old Lady Aria (heh heh). Why would he have the tolerance for a bunch of old geezers that he hardly knew and smelled like old moth balls?

_4) Cleaning roadside verges._

_Oh, hell no. _What retarded dipshit would actually _want _to clean off a fucking _street?_

Gokudera snorted and skipped down to the end of the sheet. His eyes landed on the final words,

"_After completing the total 24 hours required, you are to get a signature and your supervisor's phone number so that I can contact them, if need be."_

Well, he understood that. A humourless smirk stretched his lips, 'Heh. She just doesn't trust that we actually did the work. It's all just a bunch of fancy words for that fact.'

"_If you find something else that you would like to do instead of what is listed, you must get my approval before doing the task."_

Fuck that. The bitch should be grateful that he's even doing the Community Service. If he finds something better, he's going to do it, whether she likes it or not.

Gokudera impatiently jammed the sheet in his black slacks pocket and strode out of his room. He walked down a long corridor with different doors lining the walls. He stormed down a flight of stairs and shortly found himself walking on marble floors across to the front door. Just as he placed one foot in his Italian black dress shoes, a rich voice questioned him,

"Are you going out, Hayato?"

Bianchi, again. He adjusted his second shoe and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He never responded to his sister's questions, or really said anything to her period, but it grew into a habit to at least say something to her before going out to one of his jobs. He made the mistake (he hated calling it a 'mistake') of looking at her after a whole day of not speaking to her and, well…

His sister had looked disoriented. With this always beautiful, always dazzling woman that she was, it… unsettled him seeing her like that. If saying something put her mind a little at ease, then he'd do it.

After all, he hated people getting worked up over him.

"Yeah. I won't be back until later." Gokudera left the moment the last syllable of his statement ended and briskly walked out off of the property, his only pause was locking the door.

* * *

He supposed it was a little odd and perhaps even a twinge bit childish, but Gokudera found watching the sky while going to his evening job absolutely fascinating. He prided on being able to leave his home around the same time everyday and whenever he did, the sky was blue. He loved how as he walked through Namimori, his home town, to Kokuyo, where he worked, the scenery would change at the same time the sky would. As he walked through the busy streets of the Namimori Shopping District to the quiet suburbs of Kokuyo, the sky always varied from hues of blue to shades of orange.

Gokudera assumed that his childish fascination was induced by the fact that he couldn't enjoy these kinds of stuff anymore. Granted, he didn't have the patience to enjoy scenery in his free time, but he still never had the opportunities like all the other people who wouldn't give two shits about how the sky turned from blue to orange by the he stood in front of his workplace.

Like now, for instance. Here he was, standing a few feet from the restaurant he worked at, and the sky was a dangerous, fiery orange with near black clouds drifting by. Behind him, he could hear other people walking briskly to other places they needed-slash-wanted to be, and he stood, lost in the moment, thinking how it looked like a storm was trying to brew.

Ah! Now thinking about it, his purpose for standing out here instead of going outside could be because he didn't want to face his fellow co-workers.

There was a different type of hell in that restaurant that could only be found in that restaurant.

With a shudder, Gokudera looked forward at the red-bricked building and trudged in after a long sigh.

"Welcome to Kokuyo's Finest Restaurant, The Dual Mists," a monochrome voice greeted him the moment Gokudera opened the door.

"Save it for the costumers, Four-eyes ass," responded Gokudera instantly. He didn't spare the tall, bespectacled man a glance as he walked past the podium the said man was posted behind.

"Hn. It's just Gokudera," the man pushed up his glasses and continued to stare forward.

Gokudera then turned to him, a smirk on his lips. "What, is that mutt not at his usual watch out window? You'd usually know if it was a costumer or not before they got here."

As if on cue, a scarred face popped up from under the table Gokudera was closest to, a large scowl darkening his features. "Who're you callin' a mutt?" anger dripped from his words, the same anger bristling his wild blonde hair.

"He was talking to you, Ken. It should be obvious by the way you stink; you smell like a dog." Gokudera sighed at the answer given from the man behind the podium, knowing very well where this conversation was headed.

Ken sharply turned to him and snarled, "Eh? So now you're callin' me a dog, Kakipi? And stop saying I stink! Do you know how old it's getting?"

"It wouldn't be so old if you actually took the hint. You need a shower, Ken."

"I'm perfectly fine the way I am, Chikusa! You're the only one who complains, so it's just you!"

Chikusa (Four-eyes ass by Gokudera, Kakipi by Ken) looked at Ken, his face impassive, "You're making me mad."

"And you're-"

"Why don't you both shut up! Chikusa, you stop complaining, and Ken, take a freaking shower when you get home!"

Gokudera smirked tiredly and took a seat a one of the tables, prepping himself for the string of conversations about to take place.

A red haired woman marched right up to them from the kitchen located at the back of the restaurant. Her black skirt swished along with each stride she took and placed her hands on her hips as she came to a stop in front of Gokudera.

"Really, can't you two get along for just one day? Your bickering always distracts me from my cooking skills, and if I have no cooking skills, then this restaurant is pretty much in the sink!" her purple eyes narrowed at Gokudera.

"The hell? Why are you standing in front of me, bitch?" Gokudera glared up at her.

"You're picking a fight with me and Kakipi, not that guy!" Ken growled at her from under the table.

"M.M., you do as much work as Ken; none. Don't act as if you actually do something productive." Chikusa voiced.

"Hmph!" M.M. crossed her hands over her chest and glared harder at Gokudera, "Mukuro-chan says that I'm the reason that this restaurant makes all the money it does! Because I sit behind that counter, looking pretty while I cook, I drag costumers in like flies near a jar of honey!"

"That lie's as obvious as the scent of that cheap ass perfume you're wearing!" Ken retorted and Gokudera figured he couldn't have said it any better.

M.M. scowled deeply and bent forward, face inches from Gokudera's, "How dare you! I'll have you know that I had this perfume imported straight from France! It cost thousands of dollars, which is something _you_ could never afford!"

A grimace surfaced and Gokudera scooted back from her, "Why the hell are you facing me? The mutt's the one who keeps talking back to you!" Gokudera folded his arms, "And we all know the only reason that you 'have' any money is because you beg that filthy rich pineapple bastard to give you money!"

"Oh? And who's a filthy rich pineapple bastard, Gokudera Hayato?"

All four heads turned to the back of the restaurant as a stalked out of the same room M.M. had. Instantly, Ken and M.M. brightened.

"Ah! Mukuro-chan!"

"Mukuro-san!"

Mukuro smirked wryly, his gaze still locked on Gokudera. Gokudera met his gaze before turning away with a scoff. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"The boy who called me a pineapple bastard is what."

Gokudera began a retort, but Mukuro smiled brightly at the other occupants, "Shop's about to open up, people! M.M., you should get ready."

"Of course! Anything for Mukuro-chan!" M.M. batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at the blue haired man before rushing to the back.

A chuckle elicited from Mukuro and he turned to Chikusa. "I expect you to be a host, Chikusa." Chikusa responded with a nod of his head, "Will do, Mukuro-sama."

Mukuro turned to the table Gokudera and Ken occupied. "I trust that my two waiters will be excellent servers to our costumers."

Immediately, Ken crawled from table and formed a salute, "Of course you can count on me, Mukuro-san!" Ken scampered to a different table near a window close to entrance and peered out of it, searching for costumers.

Mukuro stared down at Gokudera, his smirk humoured, but traced with slight annoyance. Gokudera stared up at him with a frown and expectant glimmer in his eyes. When no movement from Gokudera came, Mukuro cocked a brow. "Are you going to move anytime soon?"

Gokudera rose an eyebrow as well, "Why would I need to? I'm not going to be doing much."

Mukuro's smirk twitched. "If you're at work, then you're going to work, Gokudera Hayato."

"What's the point of working now if nobody's here? 'Sides, Four-Eyes Ass over there always scare the costumers away anyway."

As if to further prove his point, Ken called out, "Costumers!" and a pair of girls walked in shyly, whispering to each other in slight awe at the interior of the restaurant.

"Welcome to Kokuyo's Finest Restaurant, The Dual Mists." Chikusa monotone voice instantly greeted, startling the girls rather badly. Chikusa stared at the two of them, his eyes obscure form the light hitting his glasses, his face emotionless.

"A table for two?"

Chikusa continued to bore a stare into the two girls and the two trembled and stuttered, trying futilely to respond to Chikusa. Finally, the two gave up and dashed out the building, squeaking as they ran.

Mukuro's smirk fell slightly at the sight and ignored Gokudera's, "See what I mean?"

"Chikusa." When the tall individual turned to him, he strengthened the smile, "Try to smile more." Chikusa pushed up his glasses in response and turned back to the door.

"So if there isn't work, why make the effort to look as if I am working?" Mukuro gave a near inaudible grunt and looked down at Gokudera's mock questioning face. Slowly Mukuro bent forward, his smile sharp with annoyance.

"Because I am the manager of this place, your boss," his voice was low as he stared at Gokudera. "If looking like you're working pleases the boss, then I'd suggest you do it or you don't get paid."

That wiped any smugness off of Gokudera's face as his lips pulled further down. Mukuro then gave a pleased grin and leaned away from Gokudera, "And we all know just how much you so desperately need that money, don't we? Kufufufu!"

Gokudera growled loudly and made a move to grab Mukuro's vest when Ken shouted, "Costumer!" and a man then walked in. Chikusa greeted his the same way as he did to the girls. Fortunately, the man was a regular costumer and didn't run out of the building, though he did flinch. As Chikusa led him to a table Mukuro smiled at Gokudera, "Why don't you earn your pay by serving that man?"

Gokudera glowered at the mismatched eyed man before standing up, knocking over the chair while doing so. He strode past Mukuro and opened his mouth to stop Ken from waiting the man.

"And by the way, Gokudera Hayato," Gokudera turned back to Mukuro's arrogant face, "Treat the costumer with more respect than you do with your boss, why don't you? It's something you seriously lack." Gokudera face clouded with anger, Mukuro's words reminding him of the conversation he had with Aria earlier. He walked forward stormily.

He didn't notice the crumpled paper of his community service assignment falling out of his pocket. Mukuro, however, did.

Mukuro gave a small tilt of his head and proceed to pick up the paper, hands unfolding the crumpled paper as he brought it up to his face. His mismatched eyes scanned the contents, and a slow, devilish grin parted his lips after every word he read. Instantly, a scheme formed.

Mukuro looked up from the sheet and set a stare on Gokudera's retreating back. That rude delinquent needed to do community service to learn some 'respect and responsibility?' Well, he certainly could help with that.

"Kufufufu…" Mukuro's crimson eye reeled.

* * *

"We didn't many costumers, Mukuro-san…"

"Kufufufu. Do not fret, Ken, since I'll just use the pocket money that I have to keep the restaurant running. As I always do."

Gokudera rolled his eyes as he bent over to clean off a table, removing a washcloth from his waist while doing so. He didn't need to even look to know that Ken was looking at Mukuro with his brown eyes wide with admiration while that said Mukuro patted his blonde head. Such a typical scene between the two and it made Gokudera scowl. He turned away from the cleansed table, leaving the washcloth where it was, and turned his frown to Mukuro as the said being took a seat at a table.

"Alright, pineapple bastard, the tables are all clean now. I'm leaving." Gokudera stuffed his hands in his pockets and began forward out the door.

"Ah, Gokudera Hayato," Gokudera stopped and looked at Mukuro. Mukuro smiled. "You dropped this paper at the start of your shift and I thought I'd return it to you." He set a long, gloved finger on a sheet of paper on the table and pushed it forward, "It looks important."

One glance at the paper and Gokudera jolted in realization. He searched through his pockets for a frantic second before huffing lightly. In a few strides, Gokudera was across the table from Mukuro gripping the paper and trying to snatch it away from the blue haired man. However, one jerk nearly ripped the paper in half. Gokudera directed a hard look at Mukuro when his one finger didn't let up, "Let go of the paper, ass."

And Mukuro's red eye spun. Gokudera instantly knew Mukuro was up to something because through all those year-like months working at this job with this man, he knew that whenever that red right eye looked like it was spinning, nothing good seemed to happen.

Mukuro's smile widened at the corners under Gokudera's suspicious stare, "Oh? And what's that look for? I merely have a suggestion as for how you could complete your twenty-four hours of community service."

Mukuro was definitely up to something. "And since when are _you_ willing to help anybody? Last time I checked, you never give help on anything. _Anything_."

"My my, how distrusting we are." And yet Mukuro's smile waxed into a grin at the accusation. Without breaking eye contact, Mukuro slid his hand into his back pocket and fished out a neatly folded piece of paper and handed it to Gokudera. Gokudera flicked his gaze to the paper and looked back up at Mukuro with a deepened frown.

"What is that?"

"Take it and find out."

Gokudera eyed the paper maliciously, as if daring it to try something, and carefully took it from his boss's hand, using the same care to open the paper. His eyes skimmed the paper before widening in disbelief.

"The fuck? 'Take care of an orphan for a day'? What kind of shit are you suggesting?" Gokudera turned his disbelieving look to Mukuro.

Mukuro's grin widened, "That you take care of an orphan for a day, or twenty four hours."

Gokudera scowled, "Is that even called community service? I thought it'd be something pointless like food bank shit or volunteering at a library."

"You're allowed to help take care of the elderly, right? It's similar to that, just with people generations younger."

"…I don't deal with kids, Rokudo."

"My my, and I thought you'd use your brain for once." Mukuro exaggerated his point with a nonchalant shake of his head and shrug of his shoulders.

"Aren't you rich, Gokudera Hayato? In that huge house of yours, you can just use one of those maids to take care of the orphan for the day," Mukuro's smile was back at full force.

It clicked. "That way, I won't be taking care of the kid but still get my twenty four hours of community service!" Gokudera grinned at the paper excitedly. "This is genius!"

Mukuro chuckled, "If I do say so myself."

At Mukuro's words, the excitement vanished, and Gokudera set a hardened glare on his face. "What are you going to gain from this, Rokudo." It wasn't a question.

"Kufufu," Mukuro grinned, "I don't plan to gain anything from this. I saw your situation and felt charitable."

Gokudera scoffed, "I don't need your pity."

"And yet you're going to use it, no?"

Gokudera bit down on his lip, eyebrows furrowing in anger. With a growl, he turned away from Mukuro's amused expression, "Whatever. I'm leaving." No other words were exchanged as Gokudera exited the restaurant.

The moment he was out of earshot was when the questions flew.

"Mukuro-san, why did you decide to help him?"

"I know! That was the perfect plan to get out of his community service! What were you thinking, Mukuro-chan?"

"Kufufufu. Don't be mislead, Ken, M.M. There is a scheme in all of this." Mukuro reassured with another chuckle.

"Should I get Chrome on the phone for you, Mukuro-sama?"

"Oh?" Mukuro looked at the podium where Chikusa's voice sounded and smiled. "Yes, you should. I'm going to need her help setting up the plan." Chikusa walked away after a curt nod.

"Kakipi knows? What are you planning, Mukuro-san?" Mukuro turned to Ken with a smirk.

"Simple. I'm helping him learn responsibility and respect, just like his assignment wants him to." Mukuro's red eye reeled as the smirk widened into a grin.

"It'll just be a permanent assignment."

* * *

Gokudera knew Mukuro was up to something and by how much that red eye spun, it was something huge. It was risky going through what Mukuro had so ever conveniently offered. A sigh escaped his lips as he slid his undone tie from around his neck and placed it neatly on his desk. Running a hand through his silver locks, he took the sheet of paper he received from Mukuro out of his back pocket and re-skimmed it, eyes picking out the important words.

According to the flyer, the adoption for a day thing had started Friday, today. It would run throughout the weekend, the last day for adoption being on Sunday. Those who wanted to bring in the kid would have to go to the orphanage, sign a few papers, pick up a few things, and take the child home. The next day, the child was to be taken back. It was all and all a simple sounding process and Gokudera felt dread and excitement. But the dread was most prominent. It was too damn convenient.

Gokudera groaned his frustration. Should he actually put trust in the pineapple bastard? Rokudo Mukuro was notorious for his scheming mind and it damn well put him on edge that he would help him out with is community service.

"Shit, man!" Gokudera flopped down on his bed. If only it had been somebody else…

"Hayato?" Gokudera stiffened.

"Hayato?" the voice called from his door. It was Bianchi.

Gokudera stayed silent. He heard his sister shuffle around his door for a few minutes and then quietly release a sigh.

"Good night, Hayato." His sister's footsteps sounded, fading as she went down the hall.

Gokudera frowned as he closed his eyes. He had to do it. The task would hinder his goal and he'd do anything to get out of this house, to get away from his sister and family, to get away from this life in this house and the memories.

He had to do it.

* * *

** I was reluctant to put this up. Like, really reluctant. I've been trying to grow in my writing (this is so proof of it. I think I reverted to my old style halfway through it) but I needed something to work on to help with that, you know? While sorting through the seemingly thousands of ideas for stories that I could write, I decided I wanted to write something for Gokudera and Tsuna, two I'm rather fond of. So I fished around my mind for something that might help me. **

**During my search, I peeked at stuff on and wound up re-reading **Reidluver's **"**Connecting the Past and Present**" (a huge inspiration for bringing up the idea). It made me remember this story I had thought out quite some time ago after reading a post on LiveJournal and it went, "Hey! Why don't I try that out?" And so, I typed.**

**Haha, I'm not expecting much though. I'm writing an overused idea with two people most don't care to read about when together ('tis a shame I like the couples that aren't very popular) even though I don't plan to have romance in this story. Ah well, it really does just take one review from somebody who's interested for me to continue 'cause, like I said, I'm not expecting much!**

**But please do give your opinion. (And I apologize for all mistakes!)**


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